Summer Festival
by Anne's Tantrums
Summary: Do you know how terrifying lies are? They deceive you, pretending to be something - or rather, someone - else. One wouldn't know how to confront someone who has lied to them many times. But he needs to talk to her. He needs to know the truth. So, without a choice, he was going to talk to her - whether she liked it or not.


**Title:** Summer Festival

**Summary:** Do you know how terrifying lies are? They deceive you, pretending to be something - or rather, someone - else. One wouldn't know how to confront someone who has lied to them many times. But he needs to talk to her. He needs to know the truth. So, without a choice, he was going to talk to her - whether she liked it or not.

**Genre:** Humor, Friendship, Romance

**Pairing:** Gray x Lucy

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Fairy Tail!

**Note:** I only proofread this so it might not be good and I'm feeling a bit dizzy because I only slept for two hours, haha. Anyways, I dedicate this first one-shot of mine to WelcomeToTheAnimeParade. She's really nice!

* * *

Yes. No. Maybe.

What?

Why don't I know the answer?

Levy knows, Mira knows, Erza knows, Laxus knows, Gajeel knows. Hell, even that tabasco addict knows! Lisanna just came back two weeks ago and she already knows. I just want to make sure of it.

Choices have been coming to mind but I wasn't sure whether they were right or not. Normally, I would've assumed that my assumptions were correct but this was someone we're talking about. That person, if what I think is correct, has made lies. Not just to me, but to others as well – 'our' friends. And to their own self, too. I can't just believe in my own words – assumptions, if you want to be exact. I need her words to assure I was right – if I actually am.

But that's what I'm actually afraid of. What if I'm wrong?

Why didn't I know? No. Why don't I know?

Yui. Lucy. Takiko. Heartfilia. Brunette. Blonde. Purple eyes. Brown eyes. Yui had brown hair that goes up to her waist. She had cute purple eyes. Her voice was soft and smooth. Lucy has shoulder-length blonde hair. Her big eyes were brown and she had a bright soothing voice.

They were too different.

But Lucy knows about the festival from two years ago that I went to with Lyon and Yui. She also knows how Yui and I met. How? No one knows. Except Lyon. I doubt that he'll tell her, though. Come to think of it, Yui started on Freshman Year and disappeared in the middle of Junior Year. Right about she left, Lucy came in the picture.

That's one of the many possibilities I took into consideration. Like the one when Lucy told us about a girl with brown hair. Or when she said she started her first year in Fairy Academy then she told us she was mistaken.

There were just too many possibilities.

But there was also the possibility that I was mistaken.

"I'll ask her straight tomorrow."

* * *

"Lucy, have you ever worn a yukata?" I asked her while we were waiting for everyone else. We all decided to go outside all together. Lucy and I were the first ones to arrive at the meeting place.

"Yukata?" She asked innocently, "Why?"

"I was just wondering if you ever went to a festival," I muttered. What the hell, Fullbuster? I thought you were gonna ask her straight!

"Ah, on – I mean, no," she replied. Huh? Did she change her answer? For a moment there, I imagined her saying, 'once'. Why did I imagine that? Argh. Stalker!

Great. Charcoal freak calls me a stripper now I call myself a stalker. Just great.

"Lucy, you know…"

Just then, an arm was on my shoulder and on Lucy's, too. Mira and Levy?

Just when I was about to ask Lucy, they had to appear and ruin the moment! Well, I can't blame them, though. I was nervous and I probably needed that distraction, anyway.

"The others are still not here?" Mira asked. I just nodded since I was busy thinking of a way to get Lucy alone with me next time so I could talk to her, without distractions this time. But I wonder when that would be. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, or the other day. Levy got her arm off me and told Mira, "We're just early."

Yeah. I don't even know why I came early. I even arrived before Lucy.

"Ne, Lucy, can you come with me? I want to talk to you."

If only I could be comfortable around Lucy and ask her just like that, like what Mira just did, my life would be easier.

I really need to think about this. But I've been thinking about this for days and I don't have an answer.

I put my elbows on the table we were sitting on inside the convenience store. I covered my face with my hands. I sighed at the same time that Levy sat next to me – the same chair that Lucy was sitting on earlier.

"Why don't you just ask her?"

_Yeah. Why?_

"Easier said than done."

_That's why._

I put my hands down and laid them on the table. I saw Levy give me a small smile. Trust me, I know she was feeling sympathetic for me. An idea popped into my mind and I turned to Lucy's best friend.

"Levy, is Lucy going to the festival tomorrow?" I asked her, feeling determined all of a sudden about this plan I've thought of. I do hope this works.

She looked at me as if I was a violet zombie. Call me if you see one. "Of course she is."

"Look, Levy, this all depends on you and Mira, alright?" Without waiting for her answer, I continued to tell her the plan I had in mind.

When she asked some things, I explained it to her with more details so she could understand. She nodded her head up and down, telling me that she was following me with whatever I was saying. The plan was simple, actually. My goal was just to get her alone and voila! The problem is… Natsu. But I'm sure Mira would be able to pull some lines and threaten him. I mean, this is Mira we're talking about!

When I was explaining, I thought of something. Where was Lucy and Mira? Aren't they taking too long? But I didn't mind it. Considering Mira, maybe their talk was just really long.

After a while, I saw the two enter the convenience store, looking as usual as ever. Now I was really curious. What did they talk about?

"Look, there they are," I made a small gesture with my finger to point behind Levy. She turned around her chair and grinned at the two.

"Mira!" She called out. When they got closer, Levy told her in a whiny voice, "Gray's not coming tomorrow."

Mira glanced at me. I forgot how Mira hates it when we're not complete on occasions. I'm so dead. I'm gonna receive a lot of scolding from her. And Erza's a different topic. I gathered my remaining courage and tried to put up a sheepish smile on my face. Mira squinted her eyes at me. I'm pretty sure that's because my eyes were twitching.

"Sorry, I have things to – "

"Who's _not_ coming?" Damn.

"Ah! Erza, can you talk to Gray?"

Levy?! I thought we were together on this! I didn't mention anything about Mira or Erza scolding me! Get your facts straight, you little blue-haired midget Redfox! I think I went too far on that insult though. Sorry, Levy. But… what she doesn't knows wouldn't hurt her, right?

"Why?" The redhead asked as she looked at me suspiciously. I've gotten that look three times already. What? It's not like green blood is coming out of my nose!

"Gray's not coming with us tomorrow," Mira said in a sad tone. But I knew she noticed Levy's not-so-obvious look earlier that told her there was something more to the story.

"Why aren't you coming, shaved ice?"

Oh, there goes tabasco freak. I was about to stand up and insult him back but his situation made me crack up. There was a red bump on his head, his cheek swollen, and a dark spot under his eye. I think I saw him with Erza earlier.

His face looked like a clown! Oh, a clown who wears a scarf during summer.

"I have things to do," I simply replied, still laughing.

It wasn't a surprise he wasn't getting annoyed. I figured it was Erza who beat him up. But when Lucy told him he looked like a garbage collector, he burst out and I cracked up. Erza gave him a glare before he could get near me or Lucy for laughing at him earlier. And I certainly wouldn't let him near Lucy.

She wasn't my possession or an object to fight over but I wasn't gonna let this fire breath near her just because of a joke. A truthful joke, as a matter of fact. She was just saying the truth. At least, she covered it up nicely. I would've said he looked like a garbage collector who lived in a dumpsite.

"What things?"

And I got another suspicious look and that was the fourth! Seriously, though, I wasn't the one who walked home with a monster's horn. My red-haired friend covered Natsu's mouth to prevent him from speaking and I was inwardly grateful for it.

"Uhh… things," I answered, panicking inside my head, what would I say – I didn't want to?

"I need a specific answer."

Specific? Why is she so curious, anyway? Right. Because Erza's like Mira. But not with the matchmaking. They want the whole gang complete when occasions are comin' up.

"Just some…" I paused, thinking of an answer. Then I sighed, hanging my head a bit. "Random things?" I gave an awkward chuckle but I knew there was more to the silence.

Just as I was about to look up at them, a fist had hit my head.

"Oi! What was that for – " When I looked up, Erza had her first raised with her and Mira glaring at me. Oh. Someone should've told me earlier it was Erza. I grinned meekly and continued, "I'm sure you have a reason for punching me, right, Erza-san?"

I heard Lucy laugh at my nervousness. Hey! This isn't a matter to laugh about. My life's on stake! Ahh, steak. Wait a minute. Natsu's stupidity is rubbing off on me. I always loved the way Lucy laughed – how her eyes would be like a half-moon, her lips spreading to a wide smile.

"No reason. I just wanted to."

Erza?!

"Yo."

Looking behind Erza and Mira, I was relieved when I saw Laxus and Gajeel.

"Hey, you two," I greeted, quite thankul that Erza would be letting me off.

"We aren't late, righ - Whoa," Gajeel's eyes widened when Natsu turned around and he saw his beaten face. Ahh, Natsu needs to be proud. He's getting pretty famous.

"Cat scratched your face, fire clown?"

"Dude. You think Erza's a cat?" Laxus' face lost a bit of color.

Then, the redhead herself turned around with a murderous aura. And I saw her look! They weren't for me but I wouldn't want them. Murdering someone by your eyes was a new crime.

"Who's a cat?"

Too bad, Gajeel and Laxus. There goes Natsu, the second and Natsu, the third. Okay, okay. Erza's pretty much proven herself. Remind me to be careful with my words around Erza.

"Who else is not here?" Lucy asked, glancing at the three beaten guys with a smile on her face.

"Wendy, Lisanna and Elfman," I answered her.

"Ah. Lisanna has a fever and Elfman wanted to stay with her," Mira explained, giving us an apologetic smile.

As if on cue, Wendy arrived.

"Sorry! I had to stop by a store," she apologized immediately, bowing her head ninety degrees to Erza. I could see she was scared. Well, who wasn't scared of the infamous Erza Scarlet?

"It's all right. It's still early," Erza smiled at the little girl. She has a soft spot for little girls, huh?

We decided to go to the mall to eat lunch first. As we were about to exit the convenience store, Levy 'accidentally' pushed me so I bumped into Lucy. I apologized to her, of course, then I glared at Levy who was smiling. I didn't like that smile. It originated from Mira.

While we were walking, Natsu said something then I teased him, he got angry, I got angry also, then we were arguing. But Lucy suddenly tripped. I swear I saw Mira _intentionally_ tripping Lucy's foot. But I didn't care at the moment. I caught Lucy by her waist and helped her standing up straight. She thanked me and I just smiled. Then I turned to glare at Mira, who had the same smile as Levy.

It's really creepy, I promise.

It's like a witch with snakes on her body's smile.

Considering Mira, she'd be like a matchmaking witch. And Levy, she's a bookwitch - if that's a word.

* * *

_"I'm really excited for tomorrow!" Mira exclaimed. Tomorrow's the big day. The summer festival._

_I nodded and smiled to myself. Then, Mira turned to me with a *fake* curious face._

_"Gray, why are you nodding and smiling?" As soon as I heard that, my nerves froze and my smile dropped. I saw everyone else turn to me. Erza gave me that suspicious look again - it's the fifth time!_

_The matchmaking witch had a look on her face - the line between curious and evil. But I could see the devious smile hidden on her eyes._

_Then, Mira asked, "Aren't you not coming? Why are you so happy?"_

_Crap._

* * *

Damn.

Mira got me there yesterday.

Sighing, I rolled on my bed. There was nothing to do. It was already 6:45 PM or so and their meeting time was seven. Even if there was still time, I didn't want to go. But there was the plan. I suddenly remembered. The plan! Levy and Mira will kill me if I don't do it.

* * *

_It was already nearing six at night so we decided to go home. When we reached the intersection next to my house, I said goodbye and was about to cross the street._

_But I caught a glimpse of Mira's glinting eyes. I stopped and looked at her. She was just next to me. She took a step closer to me and smirked._

_"Good luck with your random things. You're going to need it."_

* * *

Tch. Even during summer, she still acts like a witch.

I'm starting to think how to approach. Hmm... What if I tap her shoulder? Or I should just hug her from behind. Should I call her name? Her phone could work. An email would be better. Nah, I think a phone call's nice. What would Lucy like?

I never understood girls and their shit.

Giving up, I went inside the bathroom for a shower. The cold water would help me think. It always worked, trust me. But if you have a brain like Natsu's, I suggest you give up - unless you love steaming water like lava. Cool water's always been nicer than hot water. Except the water in a sauna.

"I should just email Levy and say I'm busy." Let's face it, it won't work the second time around.

After the shower, I quickly got dressed. A polo shirt and dark pants would be okay and a pair of sneakers. I got dressed quickly.

Still thinking about how to get to Lucy, I sat on the corner of my bed. My phone rang with a message. I opened the mail and I saw it was from Levy.

_'Dress nice, okay?'_

What? Dress nice? What does she want me to wear? A suit? It's just a talk, not a proposal.

Maybe I could go and appear and tell them I finished with my 'things'. Damn it. This shit is eating me up.

I looked at my phone and I sighed... Wait... 7:30 PM?!

Levy's gonna have my head.

Pushing the thought aside of being killed, I stood up and ran to the site.

'Where are you?!'

Mira's already looking for me. This is really, really bad. I kept running and running to the festival. I need to get there before eight. I can't believe I spent almost an hour, thinking about Lucy. I looked at my watch. 7:42 PM. Damn. When does the fireworks start? I think it was scheduled on eight. Oh. So that's why Levy told me to arrive before eight.

* * *

_"Before the fireworks start, I'll be there and you and Mira should convince Lucy to go and buy drinks for all of you. I'm sure Mira can do that. It would be great if you gave her lots of orders so she'd take a long time buying them," I explained calmly, my voice laced with excitement and I'm sure my eyes were twinkling with excitement._

_Levy brought up a hand to stop me._

_She asked, "Where would she buy drinks?"_

_"Ahh, there're lots of vending machines there in one place. She knows that."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yep. You can just tell her that there's a vending machine there," I replied, shrugging my shoulders._

_"Okay. So about what time?"_

_I didn't think of that._

_"The fireworks start at eight and it would be greater if you talked to her during it," she pointed out._

_"Well, that was the plan. Okay. I'll try to reach there by seven-thirty."_

_"Wait. If we all order Cokes and you talk to her while she's carrying them then she suddenly drops them, you're dead."_

_I sweatdropped at her threat. Just because of a shaken up Coke? Well, yeah, it'll do that bubbly bubbly thing or whatever and girls hate it. Trust me, Natsu and I have done that many times to Mira and Erza. Let's just say it wasn't the most exciting experience._

_"Yeah, yeah, I'll treat you all guys," I said, sighing. Levy squealed brightly. I'm pretty sure she's hoping that the drinks would get shaken._

_"But what if Lu-chan doesn't wants to do it?" I froze. Yeah, she'd want to watch the fireworks. I haven't thought about that, considering I just thought of it minutes ago._

_"Mira can pull tricks." I hope._

_"What about Natsu? He'd want to go with her."_

_Yeah, that was correct. He'd want to be with his best friend._

_"Mira can do it."_

_Levy gave me a skeptical look. Nowadays, Mira was getting softer and softer. I swear, she could be a marshmallow. Sometimes, Natsu doesn't even follow her orders. But..._

_"Erza!" We both exclaimed at the same idea. I smirked. We both had the same idea._

* * *

I ran and ran and ran. God knows how many meters I've ran already. Before I knew it, I was in front of the site. I was panting when I went inside, looking for a nice place near the vending machines. Ah, there was a staircase. Great.

'I'm here now.' I emailed Levy and Mira. All I need to do now was wait for Lucy come.

7:56 PM. She needs to hurry or else she'll miss the fireworks.

And then, she came, walking down the stairs. I was sitting on a pavement by the bushes and the vending machines were to the other side.

Lucy was stunning. She was wearing a purple floral yukata with a pink ribbon on her waist. Her blonde hair was tied into a high ponytail with that pink ribbon that I assumed before to be Yui's. Her shoes were just simple sandals. She wasn't wearing any make up and she was more beautiful without make up. I never understood why make up was so important to girls.

"Why did Levy-chan and Mira order me?" I heard her whine.

It was my instructions, sorry.

She walked to the vending machines and stood in front of the canned drinks. She inserted coins and pressed on the buttons that she wanted to buy. The cans dropped to the cotainer below then she knelt down to take them. This was it. I stood up and walked behind her.

"Yui."

The moment I called her, she stood up and turned around with a smile. But when she saw me, her happy face was quickly replaced by a shocked face, her wide grin dropping like how the last can in the machine dropped.

Her wide grin disappeared athe same time the fireworks started, lights racking up behind me.

Her eyes were wide and she had this look of surprise.

"G-Gray?" She whispered.

"Nice to see you too, Yui."

* * *

**AnnieBear: **Did you like it? Please drop a review to tell me! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it. I surely appreciate compliments; I don't mind insults; I accept constructive criticism. But please don't review name-calls or inappropriate or rude comments.

I personally think it was a nice story. Haha. Maybe because it's my own story that's why I think it's nice. First of all, I didn't base this story in any other - the idea just got in my head. I just wanted to clear that up. Second, anything in this story isn't meant to offend anyone, if ever. And yes, there are references in this story. For example;

_"Why?" The redhead asked as she looked at me suspiciously. I've gotten that look three times already. What? **It's not like green blood is coming out of my nose!**_

\- I got the idea from Hunter x Hunter's Chimera Ants. Though, in the anime, the Ants had blue blood.

_**Oh, there goes tabasco freak.** I was about to stand up and insult him back but his situation made me crack up. There was a red bump on his head, his cheek swollen, and a dark spot under his eye. I think I saw him with Erza earlier._

\- I got the insult 'Tabasco freak' on Fairy Tail's OVA 3.

_And I got another suspicious look and that was the fourth! **Seriously, though, I wasn't the one who walked home with a monster's horn.** My red-haired friend covered Natsu's mouth to prevent him front speaking and I was inwardly grateful for it._

\- I was talking about Erza's first appearance in Fairy Tail, episode 3 or 4, I think. She went home with a horn, right? But since this was in a different world, I didn't mention any names.

_**It's like a witch with snakes on her body's smile.**_

\- I was actually referring to Medusa Gorgon in Soul Eater.

So... I hope that clears it! Did it? I don't want any misunderstandings about this.

FOLLOW! Promise, it'll be fun!

REVIEW! I accept anything, except those I mentioned.

FAVE! There'll be more!

_"Lies are purposely made to deceive people."_

\- Annie


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